This invention relates to a novel woven cloth and more particularly to a cloth used in the fabrication of sails.
Modern sail technology requires the use of cloths of synthetic materials having various weaves, weights, and finishes. The cloth used in a spinnaker, for example, must be light in weight, resistant to tear, and have low porosity. Another important factor is stretch resistance, which allows a predictable shape to be maintained in the sail under various wind conditions.
Most sail cloths are made by weaving polymeric yarns in a conventional manner. The woven cloth is usually heat treated and coated with a resin. The cloth may also be laminated to a continuous film to improve stretch resistance. In the production of spinnaker cloth, very fine yarns of polyamid fibers are woven together. Due to the fineness of the yarns and the the weaving process requires a relatively long time per unit area of cloth.